Swirl reducer



July 21, 1925. 1,546,716

A. H. CHASE SWIRL REDUCER Filed Nov. 2, 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN1/ENTOR.

M? ATT RNEY.

July 21,1925. 1.546.716

A. H. CHASE SWIRL REDUCER Filed Nov, 2, 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY IATTORNE.'

" "INVENTOR,

July 21, 1925. 1,546,716

A. H. CHASE SWIRL REDUCER Filed Nov. 2, 1920 5 SheetS-Sheet 5 IN VENTOR.

July 2l, 1925. 1,546,716

\ A. H. CHASE.

swIRL REDUCER` I Filed Nov. 2, 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q 4 Qc Y ATTORNEY.

BY O (M Patented July El, 1925.

stares veeriece.f

ARTHUR enlise. or Westerns-row., nrs'rnrcr or COLUMBIA, assrenon To maneovnri1\urr,ruw:` or man onirico sra'rss.

sufren suppone.

Application November 2, 1920. Serial No. 421,412.

T olle/,17mm t may concern.'

Be it lrnown that Literaten l-l. Cease,

A a citizen ot the United States, residing at `air is admitted. near thebreech oi the torpedo tube and acts behind the torpedo to torce thesaine outwards. After the torpedo is once started the propelling:mechanisch goes into operation and torpedo will travel under its ownpower- The initial iin-nula@ siren" hiv the commesse air iS considerableand `a large amount ot this air passes out troni the tube andblows onthe surface of the water producing aswirl visible from seine distanceaway trono the submarine thus disclosing its exact location andenabling;r the eneiny to tire on the submarine or drop depth charges orotherwise take up the pursuit the boat troni` the swirl marking' asaStartins;- point. y

`With this understanding ,iny mind the present invention is designed toeliminate or reduce this swirl as much as possible thereby rendering'the location otl the submarine discha'rgring` the torpedo as near traclrless as possible.

A further object is to provide a simple and practical mechanism theVabove `ogeneral chaacter adapted to control the tlow ot air to andtrorntorpedo tubes.

A further object is to provide a device ot ythe above character whichIna-y be easily applied to torpedo tubesv now in use without materialaddition or alteration.

f A tlirthrfobieet is te provide device et the abeve Character which bereadilw adjusted for operation at differentdegrees iisubipergenceandwhich maybe easily cut in and out of use asdeSred other objects willbe in` part obvious and part hereinafter pointed'out. p y feteteece liesbeen made to the accor een veel sheets( et drawings timides? the'present device as applied to a torpedo tube in sulticient detail forthose skilled in the art to readily inanutacture and install the same. l

ln the accoinpanyine` drawings forming part of the disclosure andwherein similar reference characters denote corresponding parts,- y Y'Figure l is an elevational view showing the device applied to the lowerone of two submarine tubes.

Figure 2 is an end sectional elevational view taken substantially onVthe line 2/2, Figurel.

Figure 3 is a partial, sectional4 view showing;- the device in normalposition with the parts in normal or low pressure position.

Figure 4f is a view siinilar to Figure 3 with the parts in high pressureoiftiring position, Y f Y i Figure 5 is a sectional, view taken substantially alone; theline 5/5, Figure 4'.

Figure G is a sectional viewtaken substantially alone' the line 6/6,Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view of the oute1 sleeve oit thevalve'shown in Fig: ures 3 ande. y i' l Figure 8 is a sectional planview taken substantially on the line 8/8, Figure l. i Reterrine; now tothe drawings indetail and more particularly toFigjure 1,210 and 'lldenote respectively the upper and lower torpedo tubes ot submarine. Thepresent d v'ce is connected with and operates the lower tube il only` asiinilar device being applied to each ot the other tubes. The firing);mechanism comprises broadly check valve l2,` Figure 8, adapted toedmfitair to the lower torpedo tube l1 air coming from any suitable sourceofsupply suchas a reservoir through the main air pipe 13." A valve i4;is adapted to `coact with `seat l5 and is operated by handwheel 16 toentirely shut otl the inehcanisrn` hereinafter "described when sodesired.` Associated the check valve 'l2 is a firing valve 17 and adifferential piston 18 connected bylineans of pipe 20 with the swirlreducerA 21, Figure l, the opposite side ot the swirl reducer beingprovided with a pipe connection 2Q leadn ing to a pilot valve 23 whichexhausts into the atrnosphere when the tiring mechanism indicated by rod2li is moved relatively towards the lefty Figure rl, to actuate a valveThe reducer is also con nected by means of pipe 26 with the firingreservoir; this connection may be to the main reservoir.

Referring again to Figure 8, it will be noted that the valve 17 isnormally held closed by means of the spring 2 coiled about a stem 28 ofthe differential piston 18. This stem 28 is connected with a handle 30passing through an oil reservoir or other hydraulic cylinder 31 which isadapted to regulate the rate of opening of the valve 1T. ylhc piston 18vis provided with a slight clearance whereby air n'iay leali past fromthe source of supply in pipe 18 to the rear of the differential pistonthereby tending to keep the valve 17 closed, air pressure acting both onthe valve 17 and the inner surface of the piston 18.

Referring now to Figurel 3, the valve cruing` 21 is provided with twochambers 32 am 33 separated by a partition 3?.- havuig a by-pass oropening 35. Within this member 21 is a sleeve 86 and a longituudinallymovable piston valve 3T normally urged to the position shown in Figure 8by means of coil spring 38. rl`his piston valve 3? is connected by meansof a stem 4.0 with a handle Ll1 whereby it may be reciprocated by handin order to test the operativeness of the parts prior to firing.

Reference to Figure l will show that the spring 38 coiled about the stem-lO rests on an adjustable nut 42 which may be moved in and out by meansof handwheel Li8 to dei-- termine the amount of air pressure necessaryto move the parts from the position Shown in Figure 3 to that shown inFigurel. A suitable scale all. Figure 3, is provided to indicate thedegree of tension placed upon the spring. The coacting parts 3G and 8Tare provided with ports 4G and respectively, communicating with the pipewhen the parts are in the position shown Figure 5l. lVhen pressure isadmitted through this pipe 2G to act upon the member 87 this member isthen moved relatively towards the left to compress the spring 38 andcause valve 47 to rest firmly on its seat a8 thereby prevei'iting anyleakage to the atmosphere.

Then this pressure is admitted through the pipe 2G and the parts movedto that position shown in Figure at, ports 5() and 51 in the chamber 33are then in register thereby establishing communication between thepipes 2O and 22.

lith this construction in mind it is believed that the followingstatement of operation will render the objects more apparent. Y y

As the air reservoir is being charged the pressure therefrom passes inthrough pipe 26, ports 45 and L1-6, bypass 35 and pipe 20, thus buildingup pressure below the piston 18, this pressure holding the valve 17 toits seat Fig. 8. This action continues until the air reservoir pressureoverbalances the spring 38 at which time the piston valve 8T is forcedfrom the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Figure 4f.The normal air reservoir pressure is greater than the pressure at whichthis action of the piston valve 537 takes place and when the valve 141is opened by means of the handwheel 16, air pressure from the reservoirpasses through the pipe 13 and gradually leals past the piston 18 thusbuilding up pressure below this piston to the full reservoir pressure.This pressure also then exists in pipe 2O and in the swirl reducer valveshown on Figure il, its escape to the atmosphere being prevented by thepilot valve 23 Fig. 8. Then the tube is tired the rod 24.-. Fig. 1 movesrelatively towards the left and opens the pilot valve 23 by engaging thestein 25 allowing the air pressure within the system to instantly fall.The. o iening of this pilot valve results in a reduction in pressurebach of the piston 18 Fig. 8 to a point much below the pressure 'on theforward side of the piston or the pressure in the pipe 13. This byreason of the differential action causes the tiring valve 17 to open andthe air pressure passes through the valve 12 into the tube and ejectsthe torpedo therefrom.

As soon, however, as the pressure in the pipe l?) falls due to itsadmission to the torpedo tube then the pressure in pipe 26 alsoconnected with the same source of supply, drops correspondingly andinstantly allows the sliding valve 37 to move from the position shown inFigure l back to that vshown in Figure 8 under the action of the spring`38 thereby cutting off further passage of air from the pipe 2O to thepipe 22 and the pilot valve from whence the air escapes to theatmosphere. Y Pressure .immediately builds up aO'ain in the pipe 13after the tiring of the torpedo and the air rushing in through pipe 26and ports 45 and 46 Figure l, by-pass 35 and pipe 2() again restores thefiring valve 17 due to the differential pressures upon the piston 18 toclosed position thus cutting off a further supply of air to the tubethrough the valve 17 and check valve 12. This train of operations talresplace almost instantly and just enough air is admitted to the tube atthe rear of the torpedo to sta-rt the same on its way from the tube.

Frein the above it will be seen that the present invention provides amost simple, practical, reliable and efficient mechanism forautomatically admitting the proper amount of air to the tube toaccomplish the desired firing function.

The device is substantially automatic in its operation and not only ismore economie in the use of air but primarily reduces or substantiallyeliminates the objectionable swirl heretofore found in submarine tiringof torpedoes.

ithout further lanalysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthis invention. that others can by applying current lrnowledge readilyadapt it for various applica tions without omitting certain featuresthat, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics et the generic or specic aspects of this invention, andtherefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehendedwithin the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

l. In an apparatus ot the character dcscribed, in combination, with thetorpedo tube, a source of air pressure, a normally closed firing valve,a swirl reducer valve and a pilot valve, said swirl reducer valveadapted to disconnect the pilot valve from the firing valve at themoment of firing and admit air pressure to the opposite side of thetiring valve to close the same.

2. In an apparatus ot the character de scribed, in combination, with thetorpedo tube, a source of air pressure, a normally closed liring valvehaving a differential piston, a pilot valve, and a swirl reducer valveinterposed between said dilerential piston and the pilot valve adaptedto close path of communication between the pilot valve and the iiringvalve on the opening of the iii-ing valve and admit pressure to the rearof said differential piston to again close the. liring valve.

3. In an apparatus of the character d escribed, in combination, with thetorpedo tube, a source of air pressure,a normally closed liring valvehaving a diiierential piston, a pilot valve` a pipe connecting the rearol the dilerential piston with the pilot valve, a swirl reducer valve insaid pipe and providing` a normally open path of commu nication to thepilot valve and means for closing said path ot communication on openingthe firing valve and admitting compressed air to the rear of saiddifferential piston to again close said tiring valve.

4t. In an apparatus vof the character described, in combination with thetorpedo tube, al source of air pressure, a. normallyV closed .tiringvalve having a differential piston, a pilot valve, a pipe connecting therear of the dierential piston with the pilot valve, a swirl reducervalve in said pipe and providing a normally open path of cominunicationto the pilot valve, and means for closing said path of communication onopening the firing valve and admitting compressed air to the rear oli'said differential piston to again close said iring valve, said swirlreducer valve comprising a casing having two chambers andl two sets ofvalves one in each chamber, one set being normally open and the othernormally closed, said chambers having a communicating passagetherebetween. Y

5. A swirl reducer valve associated withv the firing mechanism ofsubmarine torpedo tubes comprising a casing divided into twocommunicating chambers, a valve in each chamber, one valve being openand the other normally closed` and a firing valve, a source ofcompressed air for holding said iirst mentioned valves in normalposition and means including a pilot valve whereby said valvesAalternate their open and closed position on iiring the torpedo and againassume their normal position after firing.

6. A swirl reducer valve associated with the firing mechanism o'tsubmarine torpedo tubes comprising a casing having two com municatingchambers, a tubular member mounted in said chambers and provided withports, a longitudinally movable valve member positioned in said tubularmember having ports registering with the ports in one chamber andnormally out of register with the ports in the other chamber, a springurging said movable member in one direction and a source ot compressedair urging said movable member in the other direction, said spring beingadapted to close one set and open the other set of ports when said airpressure is reduced on firing and a` firing valve and a pilot valvebetween which. said swirl reducer valve is interposed.

7. In combination with a submarine torpedo tube, a pilot valve, a liringvalve and automatically operating means adapted to open and close saidvalve when the torpedo is fired, said means including a swirl re ducervalve interposed between the tiring valve and the Pilot valve.

Signed at Washington, District of Columbia, this twenty second day otJune 1920.

ARTHUR I-I. CHASE.

